Photos: Miss Bum Bum 2017 Finalists Bring Traffic To A Halt As They Storm The Streets

by davoice

Striding down the streets of Sao Paulo in their black swimsuits, these glamorous models have been stopping the traffic as they promote the much anticipated Miss Bum Brazil competition.

The 27-strong bevy of ladies includes a playboy model who is the first American to appear in the event and a contestant who is in a polyamorous relationship with both a man and a woman.

The public must decide which of the 27 women will be allowed to compete in the November final to select the nation’s sexiest derriere.

Competition is fierce as only 15 of the buxom beauties will be allowed to take part in the final. The winner of the competition will be awarded a much sought after cover shoot for a popular men’s magazine, a significant cash prize and celebrity status.

Miss Bum Bum was first started seven years ago and developed into a major glamour model competition in Brazil. Several spin-offs have been held as well as the world famous annual competition in Brazil.

In a country obsessed with the female backside, winners of the hotly-disputed contest become overnight celebrities and often go on to earn millions in modelling contracts and endorsements.

The contestants will now spend the next three months doing whatever they can to win enough telephone votes from the public to win them a place in the grande final on November 6.

This year’s competition is ‘more elegant’ than last – with bums bigger than 107cm banned from the contest.

This would exclude Kim Kardashian’s 109cm (43in) backside, if she had wanted to enter.

Meanwhile, the risque behaviour which has marked previous contests – including one contestant who rode naked through a shanty town and another offering live strip teases in exchange for votes – is now firmly out of order.

And instead of G-strings and thongs, provocative lingerie and deliberate attempts to cause controversy – such as a raunchy photo shoot last year when contestants reenacted The Last Supper – official shoots this year showed contestants in full body swimsuits.

Competition creator Cacau Oliver said: ‘I feel the need to reach for a new audience.’

Last year’s winner was Erika Canela, from Bahia, who was crowned winner after the fiercely fought contest.

Erika, who has a 42inch bottom, took home a £18,000 prize and a lucrative modelling contract.

The curvy 20-year-old was the first black woman to win the popular beauty pageant in which more than 17 million Brazilians vote for their country’s sexiest backside.

She has since commemorated her win by getting a tattoo of Donald Trump on her body after winning the title on the same day as he won the US election.